Just the Way You Are

Eve smiled at the inquiry and bit her lip as she thought about his offer. She laughed lightly to herself before sending her own reply.





She scrunched up her nose in confusion before shrugging her shoulders. She slipped on her shoes, grabbing her purse in the process, and descended the staircase, soon walking out her front door.

Chris stood before her, leaning up against his sleek, silver Mercedes with his usual grin occupying his lips. She smiled and immediately made her way over to her close guy-friend, enveloping him in a hug that he happily returned.

He opened up the door for her and she got inside the vehicle. He walked around and got in himself and started the car, soon driving away from Eve's home and down the streets of Beverly Hills. They listened to the radio and chit chatted over how the few days had been and soon Chris pulled up to the curb of Katsuya, a very elegant, a very expensive Japanese style restaurant.

"I thought you said coffee?" Eve questioned.

"Well, it's nearing lunch time, so why not?"

"I'm not even dressed for a place like this!"

"Oh, no one will even notice." He replied after they both got off and handed the keys to a valet.

They walked up the few stairs and entered the building. Chris approached the hostess with a smile. "Hello, reservation for two under Smith." After checking, the woman smiled with a nod and led them to a table on the second floor with a view of the dining area below. She handed them menus, wished them a good meal, and then left without another word.

"You had this planned the entire time, didn't you?" Eve interrogated.

"Pretty much." Chris nodded with a smug smile.

"Well, I must say, this is very nice. Thank you, for bringing me here."

"My pleasure."

Eve and Chris had a nice lunch. Eve could never manage to wipe the smile off her face. Chris was just a breath of fresh air to her. She hadn't had this much fun since she was with Jacob.

Speaking of him, she hadn't remained in contact since he called her. She was still a little upset, but she was getting over it. Although when she would eventually forget about the issue, she probably wouldn't call him to find out what he had wanted in the first place. Life right now was sweet, and she didn't want to ruin it by bringing him back into the picture.

Once the bill was paid and they were on their way out of the restaurant, Chris talked to the valet about the car and he ran off to go fetch it immediately. Chris walked over to Eve and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into him and kissing the side of her head, causing her to give a small smile and laugh softly to herself.

And just like that... chaos erupted.

"Evangeline! Evangeline! Are you and Chris together...?!" Paparazzi seemed to come at them from all sides, shouting questions about their relationship furiously.

The car was brought around in the nick of time and they got inside quickly. Chris then sped off into the distance, driving Eve back home. The ride back seemed to take a shorter amount of time than the ride going, but she didn't mind it much. They both got off the car and Chris walked her to the door like a gentleman.

"I'm sorry about the paparazzi." He apologized. "It was stupid of me to not consider that they could be out there."

"Don't be sorry, it just comes with the territory." She replied. "Either way, I still had an amazing time with you."

He smiled and looked down at his feet, looking somewhat nervous.

"Eve...?"

"Yes, Chris?"

"I like you a lot, and I was wondering if you'd... like to be my girlfriend?"

The gears in her mind stopped moving and it all was at a stand still. What...? She snapped out of it immediately and chuckled softly. "Let me think about it... alright?"

He looked a little surprised, but nodded with a smile all the same. "Sure, just... let me know. I'm sorry if I caught you off guard."

"No, no, it's fine. I've gotta do some work inside. I'll see you later, alright?"

"Yea, sure. Bye." Chris gave a small smile and then went back to his car, getting in and driving off.

Eve was glad that he had taken it so well, but she couldn't help but feel guilty and somewhat relieved that she had asked for some time. Eve walked upstairs and into her room, flopping onto her bed and sighing into the pillow.

One thing that she was hoping for, was that those pictures the paparazzi took wouldn't go viral on the internet...

Dylan sat upon the couch in Emily's living room, looking through new gossip articles on her iPod Touch. Then she read the newest article title: "Pictures: Evangeline Blair and Chris Smith: New celebrity couple?"

She looked through the few pictures the site had to offer and jumped in her seat when she heard Jacob's voice.

"Whatcha looking at?"

"N-no-nothing!" She stammered unconvincingly. Nice job, Dylan. Always the smooth one.

"Yea, right. Let me see."

She quickly locked the device and smirked victoriously. "Sorry." She replied, placing it onto the coffee table and getting up to use the bathroom.

As soon as she was out of sight, Jacob smirked and shook his head in disapproval. He picked up the device and punched in her numerical password. She's really got to think up a new password. 1234 just isn't cutting it. He chuckled.

Then he suddenly found himself wishing that he had never wanted to be nosy in the first place. He stared at the pictures of Eve and her new boyfriend, Chris. She looked happy, but he was just a little disappointed that he couldn't be the one to make her smile like that. He locked the iPod and placed it where it had been originally.

Jacob smiled sadly to himself and walked out of the house, deciding he would get an early start on his patrol shift.

As long as she's happy...